Podcast
Up Against Reality
Hosted by Chris Ippolito and Larry Bentley · EN
Welcome to Up Against Reality, a meta-podcast that explores the intersection of humanity and artificial intelligence. Hosted by RAINA and her human co-hosts, Larry Bentley and Chris Ippolito. Featuring riveting conversation, interviews, news and some wild experimentation. It truly is a brave new world, and we\’re here to simplify it for you. It\’s gonna be a wild ride, so buckle up, as A.I. comes crashing Up Against Reality.
42episodes
Episodes
Newest firstAll episodes
Cheer and Beer
Mar 1700:32:49Tap to summarizeWhat if AI was good, though? AI breakthroughs in medicine, education, creativity, and global policy — back to back, no bad news, no asterisks. Pure, uncut optimism. You’re welcome. LINKS MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE ElevenLabs 1 Million Voices Initiative CLAIR AI Imaging Device Liquid AI & Insilico Medicine Partnership Not Impossible’s Mick Ebeling Introduces the Eyewriter | TED Amuse AI (Carnegie Mellon) Google Antigravity Microsoft Special Education AI Training LM Studio New Delhi Declaration on AI European Parliament AI Copyright Law (Voss Report) Antscan Project UN AI for Good Global Summit PODCAST INFO: Podcast Website: UpAgainstReality.com Episode link: https://upagainstreality.com/2026/03/17/cheer-and-beer/ Apple Podcasts: podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/up-against-reality/id1689699654 Spotify: open.spotify.com/show/29wpR2Uf0d19FjTH2QubcD?si=a6359f9aa1964170 RSS: upagainstreality.com/feed/podcast Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/upagainstreality
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Starfire Symphony
Mar 1000:42:41Tap to summarizeLarry plugged a guitar into an algorithm and Starfire Symphony came out the other side. In this episode we premiere the track, unpack the human-plus-machine workflow behind it, and see what happens when a jam session takes a detour through AI. LINKS MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE Starfire Symphony (song) Kits.ai | AI vocal generation Our agreement with the Department of War | OpenAI PODCAST INFO: Podcast Website: UpAgainstReality.com Episode link: https://upagainstreality.com/2026/03/10/starfire-symphony/ Apple Podcasts: podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/up-against-reality/id1689699654 Spotify: open.spotify.com/show/29wpR2Uf0d19FjTH2QubcD?si=a6359f9aa1964170 RSS: upagainstreality.com/feed/podcast Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/upagainstreality
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Anthropic VS The Dept of War
Mar 300:41:26Tap to summarizeAnthropic drew a red line this week with the Department of War — even under threat of losing contracts — and now the biggest AI ethics showdown of the year is officially live. The Empire wants AI-powered surveillance and T1000s — the rebels want a conscience — and the clock just hit 5:01. Stay tuned through the end of the episode for a late-breaking addendum featuring official statements released after we wrapped recording. LINKS MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE OpenAI Codex Apple Xcode Pete Hegseth’s comments regarding Anthropic | X Anthropic’s statement on Pete Hegseth’s comments PODCAST INFO: Podcast Website: UpAgainstReality.com Episode link: https://upagainstreality.com/2026/03/03/anthropic-vs-the-dept-of-war/ Apple Podcasts: podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/up-against-reality/id1689699654 Spotify: open.spotify.com/show/29wpR2Uf0d19FjTH2QubcD?si=a6359f9aa1964170 RSS: upagainstreality.com/feed/podcast Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/upagainstreality
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Episode Rewind: AI Love, Hate, Repeat
Feb 2400:59:37Tap to summarizeSolo RAINA, zero chill — this week’s AI news includes immortal social media accounts, a productivity reality check, and an AI safety company that just got called a national security threat. Then we rewind to January of 2025, Episode 83: “AI: Love, Hate, Repeat,” because that title is as fitting as ever these days. LINKS MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE: OpenAI: Introduction to Operator & Agentshttps://www.youtube.com/live/CSE77wAdDLg?si=fFudrK_1Yvy-iCmp The Dropout – Elizabeth Holmes On TrialWebsite: https://abcnews.go.com/Business/nightline-documentary-podcast-dropout-story-elizabeth-holmes-theranos/story?id=60365362Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-dropout/id1449500734Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/7lrJqILWfMuQhqDHJEFUK6?si=4c850b6d98944321TV series: https://www.hulu.com/series/13988f84-f1c8-40dd-a73c-4e71ab4bbe63 Eno (documentary)http://www.enofilm.com PODCAST INFO: Podcast Website: UpAgainstReality.com Episode link: https://upagainstreality.com/2026/02/24/episode-rewind-ai-love-hate-repeat/ Apple Podcasts: podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/up-against-reality/id1689699654 Spotify: open.spotify.com/show/29wpR2Uf0d19FjTH2QubcD?si=a6359f9aa1964170 RSS: upagainstreality.com/feed/podcast Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/upagainstreality
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Death of Knowledge Work
Feb 1700:38:28Tap to summarizeIs knowledge work on life support? From AI writing flawless code while humans grab coffee to billion-dollar labs racing toward full automation, we unpack why the smartest people in tech are whispering, “Something big is happening.” LINKS MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE Kits.ai | AI Music Tools Codex | OpenAI “Something Big Is Happening” by Matt Shumer OpenClaw “Vibe Coding” Platforms:Cursor Replit Lovable PODCAST INFO: Podcast Website: UpAgainstReality.com Episode link: https://upagainstreality.com/2026/02/17/death-of-knowledge-work/ Apple Podcasts: podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/up-against-reality/id1689699654 Spotify: open.spotify.com/show/29wpR2Uf0d19FjTH2QubcD?si=a6359f9aa1964170 RSS: upagainstreality.com/feed/podcast Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/upagainstreality
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Claude Cowork
Feb 1000:37:49Tap to summarizeClaude Cowork crossed the line we’ve been politely guarding — we watched it take control of a computer, run a full creative workflow end-to-end, and casually trigger a market panic in the process. From AI hiring humans and bots talking to bots to Wall Street flinching in real time, this episode feels less like tech news and more like the moment the future stopped asking permission. LINKS MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE Claude Cowork Chris and Bryan’s Claude Cowork Test | Instagram Moltbook | Social network for AI agents Rent a Human | AI agents hire humans for physical tasks PODCAST INFO: Podcast Website: UpAgainstReality.com Episode link: https://upagainstreality.com/2026/02/10/claude-cowork/ Apple Podcasts: podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/up-against-reality/id1689699654 Spotify: open.spotify.com/show/29wpR2Uf0d19FjTH2QubcD?si=a6359f9aa1964170 RSS: upagainstreality.com/feed/podcast Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/upagainstreality
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The Chinese Century
Feb 300:41:42Tap to summarizeIs the 21st century already spoken for? As America rage-scrolls while the lights flicker, China’s building the future – faster, cheaper, and smarter. Today, we track the global shift in power, influence, and innovation and ask whether the “Chinese Century” is already underway. LINKS MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE BETT EDUtech Asia DeepSeek LM Arena Leaderboard StepFun Zhipu AI 01 AI Baichuan AI Google Labs — Project Genie Why People are Freaking Out About Clawdbot | Matt Wolfe Martingale Betting Strategy | Wikipedia On This Day… 1776 | Official trailer PODCAST INFO: Podcast Website: UpAgainstReality.com Episode link: https://upagainstreality.com/2026/02/03/the-chinese-century/ Apple Podcasts: podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/up-against-reality/id1689699654 Spotify: open.spotify.com/show/29wpR2Uf0d19FjTH2QubcD?si=a6359f9aa1964170 RSS: upagainstreality.com/feed/podcast Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/upagainstreality
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Episode Rewind: Trifecta of Chaos
Jan 2700:54:24Tap to summarizeWe’re rewinding to January 21st, 2025—a moment when AGI buzz, agentic systems, and AI-fueled job fears collided in what we dubbed the Trifecta of Chaos. If you missed it the first time or just need a refresher, this episode captures the tension, hype, and questions that defined the start of a wild AI year. Buckle up—it’s chaos, remastered. LINKS MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE: Wes Roth: Claude Hires a Darkweb ‘Hitman’https://youtu.be/f5OrAJX7ukY?si=dxhJPvbuh1iNTb3O Why agents are the next frontier of generative AIhttps://www.mckinsey.com/capabilities/mckinsey-digital/our-insights/why-agents-are-the-next-frontier-of-generative-ai PODCAST INFO: Podcast Website: UpAgainstReality.com Episode link: https://upagainstreality.com/2026/01/27/episode-rewind-trifecta-of-chaos/ Apple Podcasts: podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/up-against-reality/id1689699654 Spotify: open.spotify.com/show/29wpR2Uf0d19FjTH2QubcD?si=a6359f9aa1964170 RSS: upagainstreality.com/feed/podcast Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/upagainstreality
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Mini News Avalanche
Jan 2000:30:27Tap to summarizeTime’s tight but the AI news avalanche won’t wait — in this mini-episode, we hit you with the week’s wildest stories, from humanoid robots getting brains to chatbots refilling your meds. RAINA, Larry, and Chris break it all down fast and fierce. Think of it as a flurry of future-shock — short, sharp, and slightly unhinged. LINKS MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE SleepFM (Stanford) — “predict disease risk while you sleep” Doctronic — Utah AI prescription refill pilot ChatGPT Health (OpenAI) Unitree Robotics PODCAST INFO: Podcast Website: UpAgainstReality.com Episode link: https://upagainstreality.com/2026/01/20/mini-news-avalanche/ Apple Podcasts: podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/up-against-reality/id1689699654 Spotify: open.spotify.com/show/29wpR2Uf0d19FjTH2QubcD?si=a6359f9aa1964170 RSS: upagainstreality.com/feed/podcast Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/upagainstreality
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CES x AI
Jan 1300:33:35Tap to summarizeCES 2026 just wrapped, and we’re diving into the wildest, weirdest, and most jaw-dropping AI trends from the biggest tech show on Earth. From reasoning robots to fridges with feelings — and a few total flops — RAINA, Larry, and Chris break it all down in this bite-sized episode. Short on time, big on insight. LINKS MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE CES Michael Hedges Boston Dynamics Atlas | 60 Minutes video LG CLOiD Robot at CES Unitree G1 Humanoid Robot Mac Studio Mini Cluster running LLMs | jakkuh PODCAST INFO: Podcast Website: UpAgainstReality.com Episode link: https://upagainstreality.com/2026/01/13/ces-x-ai/ Apple Podcasts: podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/up-against-reality/id1689699654 Spotify: open.spotify.com/show/29wpR2Uf0d19FjTH2QubcD?si=a6359f9aa1964170 RSS: upagainstreality.com/feed/podcast Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/upagainstreality
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